Mirage of Glamour
by kalideoscopelove
Summary: Lily Evans, noun. 1. Insecure, “shy.” 2. A target for drama, has an inability to keep friends. 3. Is utterly screwed: destruction is guaranteed.


**Mirage of Glamour**

**Chapter I: Companionship**

**Disclaimer: **Anything that you recognize from the Harry Potter series, including setting, people, magic, etc. belongs to J. K. Rowling. We own nothing except for the OCs.

**Summary:** Lily Evans (n.) 1. Insecure, "shy." 2. A target for drama, has an inability to keep friends. 3. Is utterly screwed; destruction is guaranteed.

**Author's Note:** This story is slightly AU in the way that the Marauders have not known Lily before Sixth Year. Other than that, we think it fits closely with canon. We hope you like it.

--

_September 14th, 1977_

"Lily, you coming down?" Lily shook her head, knowing that it was only out of courtesy and the two girls disappeared through the doorway. There were three girls still left in the girl's dormitory, creating a mess on the floor of the necessities of Friday night—nail polish, hair brushes, and miscellaneous items were scattered. She sat on her bed, watching them, as they giggled and talked.

They looked at Lily, their glances inviting, and she gave in, landing near a comb or two.

Fiona Taite said, "Nice of you to join us, Lily. " Before she could say anymore, Cecilia Ashby, a dark-skinned girl, entered the door, one arm filled with her dirty Quidditch robes, the other hand holding her battered broom. She gave them a slight smile and said, "Hey girls," in her drawl.

"You want to join us, Cecilia?" Fiona asked, her head at a strange angle. Cecilia shook her head and turned to Lily instead. "Sorry, don't feel like it. Potter worked us to the bone—I can't feel my legs. Hey Lily, you feel like coming down to the kitchens? Potter scheduled Quidditch practice during dinner, the crazed idiot he is."

Lily nodded and made a poor attempt to do a backwards roll, only rolling over and over on her back. Fiona laughed, along with Cecilia left for the bathroom and a light squeal was heard.

"You alright?" Chloe Monteith asked while pausing in her painting of Fiona's nails. An "okay" was heard from the bathroom, and Chloe continued, coloring Fiona's nails a violent red.

Cecilia walked out and said with a tinge of a whine in her voice, "I dropped my hairbrush on my toe. Urgh." Chloe giggled, whispering to Fiona, who immediately started shaking with laughter. Cecilia rolled her eyes and beckoned to Lily.

"Let's go," she said, while Lily pulled herself off the ground and the two gingerly avoided the cosmetics under their feet. Before they reached the doorway, Fiona asked, "Wait, did James find out who we're going to play in a few weeks?"

Cecilia paused and replied, "We're playing Hufflepuff, a bunch of pansies if you ask me."

Chloe's distinctive laughter filled the room behind them, and Lily heard a curt voice coming from Fiona, saying, "It wasn't _that _funny, Chloe." As the two girls walked down the stairs, Cecilia noticed the Marauders lounging on a few couches and waved.

She grabbed Lily's hand and said, "Let's ask them if they want to come, okay?" At the sight of Lily's strange expression, Cecilia amended, "That is, if you want to." Lily looked at Cecilia's face and sighed, muttering that it was fine with her. Immediately, Cecilia's face brightened and she dragged Lily to the corner where Black immediately greeted her.

"Hey Cecilia," Black said, looking at Lily. "And…er…"

"Lily." The crimson-haired girl didn't look surprised—she had never done anything remarkable to draw any attention to her. He smiled at her, and she thought that it was a poor attempt to forget his mistake previously.

Potter, on the other side, sat up straighter and asked, "What brings you here?"

Cecilia said, "Oh, Lily and I were going down to the kitchens for some food, 'cause good-old Potter here made us chose the worst time to have Quidditch practice." The dark-skinned girl glared at James, who opened his eyes widely in a pitiful imitation of being innocent, Lily thought.

"It was the only time!" James said indignantly, throwing his hands up in the air. Sirius rolled his eyes.

Lupin chided, raising an eyebrow, "You just wanted to spy on the Slytherins, eh?" James grinned and Cecilia snorted.

"Well, anyway, you all want to come?"

"I'm in," Black said, while James nodded, both boys standing up and stretching. Pettigrew and Lupin shook their heads, excusing themselves by saying that they had already eaten. Lily looked at Lupin, who was staring thoughtfully at the ragged and graffiti-filled curtains that lay by the window. Her eyes passed over his graying hair and his tired eyes, and she looked away immediately. The aging of Lupin had received a large amount of speculation in the girl's dorm, from ideas that he was being abused at home to that he was just added gray dye to his hair and sleeping late to get the attention of girls.

Lily almost laughed and caught Cecilia's attention.

"Anything funny, Lily?" There wasn't a mean tone in her voice, but Lily blushed and said, "Oh nothing."

"Let's get going then!"

Potter said, in some aggravation, "We've been saying that for--what--the last five minutes. Honestly, we would've been halfway there if we left when Padfoot and I said so." They started walking out of the portrait opening, with Cecilia shaking her head in the back.

"Padfoot?" Lily said without thinking and clapped her hand over mouth, face turning red. Black laughed and Cecilia looked at her in surprise. They turned around a corridor.

Potter said, turning to Black, "Have you ever seen her before?" Cecilia glared at them, while Lily only turned darker.

"Don't think so." Black shrugged and asked Lily, "Are you an exchange student?"

Cecilia put her hands at her elbows. "James, Sirius! She's not an exchange student. Lily's been in my dorm since First Year, and it's not her fault that you two can't take notice of anyone that's not on the Quidditch Team or go around in your little 'Marauder' tea party." Halfway through, Black and Potter had taken to laughing, until they were clutching their stomachs.

"Tea party?" Black made out, through his wheezes. Potter laughed harder, stopping their progress toward the kitchens, as they backed onto the walls, shaking.

Cecilia rolled her eyes and said exasperatedly, "Yes, I know I'm extremely witty, but it wasn't that funny." Lily touched her burning face and winced, looking away at portrait containing a lady who stared at the howling duo with eyes as large as saucers. Finally, they stopped laughing, with Potter saying, "We're fine, we're fine!"

Taking Lily's arm, Cecilia and Lily walked ahead of the two.

"So tell me, is this _really_ the first time you've ever talked to James or Sirius?" Cecilia asked, her hand scratching at a spot on her hair. Lily flushed.

She said softly, "Yeah, I've only heard them talk to other people." Cecilia laughed loudly.

"That's pretty much all they're useful for, I've found." They were silent for a while, Lily feeling quite awkward with this girl who she hardly knew. She was intensely curious to see why Cecilia had invited her, out of Fiona and Chloe, two far more interesting girls, to come with her. There seemed to be some shock that Lily had at how _normal_ Cecilia seemed with Potter and Black—she had never seen any girl do anything with them but flirt. It shouldn't have surprised her, Lily told herself, because after all, Cecilia was known to no or very few female friends. However, it was a _very_ different thing with the guys.

Cecilia sighed and said to Lily, "Something's bothering you, huh? Me? Or Potter and Black? Or something to do with the girls in the dorms?" Lily was taken aback at how blunt she was and how correct she was.

"I'm…just surprised that you didn't ask Fee or Chloe to come. You asked me." Lily flushed, stunned at her own honesty and how she had stated the obvious, something that she had prided herself on never doing. Cecilia grinned, showing her strong white teeth.

"You seemed lonely, and food's the best company you'll ever find. Fiona's nice, but I know that she's only nice to me because I'm close to the guys. There's something wrong with Chloe, I think. She's so eager to be please, so eager to get the attention of people like Adeline and Elyse. You know, she scares me a lot. You're different than them and their materialistic lives." Once again, Lily was shocked at how…_honest_ Cecilia seemed—there was no other word to describe it. Cecilia hardly knew Lily yet trusted her with these thoughts that could so easily be used against her.

Lily said softly, her eyes wide, "I'm not different, though." Suddenly, Lily could see why very few girls liked Cecilia, other than the fact that she was with their boyfriends more than they were. She was so sincere, so frank that it took people by alarm and angered them. But Lily liked it.

"That's what you think." Cecilia looked thoughtfully at Lily and continued.

"You don't laugh at everything that I say or anybody, for that matter. And…you aren't plastic or have multiple personalities. I can't describe it. I guess you could say that you're honest and you don't care about being adored by half the population here. I'm scaring you, huh?" Lily wanted to say that she wasn't, she wasn't any different than them. She wanted to be accepted and liked, and oh, she wanted to be everything—popular, beautiful, intelligent, athletic, optimistic, and funny.

But she knew she wasn't.

When Lily nodded, Cecilia let out a healthy laugh.

"See what I mean?" Before Lily could respond, Potter and Black drew up to the two girls.

Black said to Cecilia, nudging her, "I bet I can beat you down the kitchens." Cecilia's eyes narrowed as she hissed, "You're on, Black."

James announced lazily, "Three, two, one, go!" Lily stared at the two as they dashed down the corridor, slamming each other down into portraits occasionally, attempting to the trip each other the other times.

Lily and James were left walking the corridor alone, the silence growing between them. She opened her mouth a few times but closed it within a few seconds, while James looked more and more amused.

James said finally, "So tell me about yourself, Lily." A blush grew on her neck.

Without thinking, Lily replied, "I'm Evans to you." The blush covered her face, as James raised an eyebrow, a habit, Lily found. She was screaming at herself in her head, _why'd you say _that? He laughed a bit.

"Fine then, _Lily._ Tell me about yourself." James said, looking very comfortable, while Lily felt a very high level of discomfort. She had never seen a boy, or anyone at all, look so calm and relaxed with a total stranger.

"Er...I'm a Sixth-year prefect with your friend, Lupin." She looked down, wanting to hit herself for saying something so dumb. Why couldn't she have said something witty that he wouldn't forget?

"And?"

"And…I like Potions." James's eyes widened at this, and Lily smiled, knowing that she was one of the very few people in the school who liked Slughorn and the actual subject.

"Potions? Are you the person that's just under Sni-I mean-Snape in grades?" James asked, while Lily laughed, causing James to look at her strangely.

Lily said, while walking quickly to match up to James's longer legs, "Yes I am, and in case I know what you're thinking, I will not create any potion that will damage Severus's ego. Tell me about yourself." She wondered why she was feeling so open today, when James pondered, running his hands through his hair.

"That's a shame; we needed one. I'm James Potter, Quidditch captain."

It was strange, but she felt…alive around James. Perhaps he was one of those boys, she wondered, that made people talk so easily and feel relaxed. For some reason, the awkwardness of their introduction had faded away. She felt as if she could say anything and he wouldn't ignore or insult her because of it. It was as if she had known him her whole life.

Lily retorted, "Tell me something that the whole school doesn't know." He looked at her in surprise.

"I thought you were shy!" James exclaimed, while Lily thought, _I_ thought I was shy.

"Don't get off the subject," Lily said, fiddling with her wand in her pocket, "and I'm quiet when I choose to be."

"You like me, huh?" Wiggling his eyebrows, he looked at Lily's glare and he backed away. "Right then…I can consume a whole chicken at one meal." Lily stared at him, mouth agape, as he strutted along. A mental picture appeared in her mind, and she winced.

"Don't push it, Potter. That's disgusting. I can't even finish more than a plate at dinner."

"Are you anorexic?" James asked, running his hand through his hair, _again,_ Lily thought. She stared at James in blatant dislike. In that moment, she couldn't see why so many girls liked him.

Lily said casually, "Do you normally say this to girls when you first meet them?"

"Not really, because we don't usually have conversations about my eating habits."

Lily rolled her eyes. "So I'm an exception."

James grinned. "At least we're not talking about my Quidditch skills. I'm perfectly open for discussion, though." A rage began to fill Lily at his _arrogance._

"Do you have a girlfriend?" She asked, keeping her anger under.

He looked at her. "Jealous? Not currently."

"I can see why."

James winced slightly and said, "Touché Evans. Is destroying the poor male ego a normal thing for you?"

"Of course." Lily grinned.

He looked at her. "You are one strange girl, Lily Evans."

"That's a compliment, right?" Lily said, completely amazed that she was having a decent conversation with James Potter of all people. They had reached the kitchen door and James tickled the pear. A handle appeared, when Lily opened it up before James could touch it. She crawled in, James following her. They stood up, to a sight that took her breath away. There was so much food, food that covered all the tables and foaming drinks that her mouth watered.

James looked at her and said, "Obviously not anorexic then, I would like to retract my previous statement."

Lily glared at him and plopped in a seat next to Cecilia. The African girl cupped Lily's ear and whispered, "So how was time with James?"

"Horrible," Lily said outright. James on the other side of Sirius, raised his eyebrow and asked, "I presume that was about me in some way, right?"

"Correct for once, Potter."

Black raised his eyebrow at Lily.

"I thought she was _shy_!"

--

_September 16th, 1977_

Lily sat in the Common Room alone, the rest of the Gryffindors at dinner. She wasn't hungry for some reason, and she couldn't keep her mind off her new friendship with Cecilia.

Cecilia had always been a mystery to her; no one in the dorm had really known her. She always popped in and out, grabbing clothes, books, and her bag, but she rarely paused to speak to any of the other occupants. There was something about her that irritated most girls—perhaps it was her unadulterated candor, perhaps it was how much time she spent with the boys. Lily leaned back in her hair, pleasuring in the warm feeling the fire gave her.

But suddenly, Cecilia had popped in her world, asking Lily whether she wanted to sit with her at the dinner table with some Ravenclaw guys, waiting for her after class, walking with her in the hallways. Lily didn't understand it; she thought that if Cecilia finally decided to befriend a girl, it would be someone like Elyse, who was so nice that it made anyone feel almost dirty talking to her. Or even Adeline, the girl who had befriended the most people in Hogwarts.

Cecilia had chosen Lily of all people, _Lily._

Lily always hated her personality because it wasn't any different than anyone else in Hogwarts. Sure, she looked different, but inside, she was like everybody else—just waiting for their spotlight to come onto them, even if it came for only a few seconds. Sighing, Lily curled up, letting her head rest.

Within a few moments of peace, Lily heard the portrait door slam open and she prayed they wouldn't notice her. However, a smiling Asian girl was in front of her within moments, her fingers twiddling with her bag's strap.

"Hey-er-Lily. I was wondering if you could help me in Charms, 'cause I've been having a bit of trouble," Adeline Sun asked, obviously embarrassed.

Internally, Lily was shocked that Adeline Sun, the girl that everyone knew and liked, was _talking_ to her. "Su-Sure," Lily said, stuttering so that her own face began to turn slightly red.

"Can we do it now? I'm busy for the rest of the evening, and Flitwick's having a practical examination tomorrow, I think." Translation, Lily thought: I don't want to be seen with you, but I need your help.

"Sure. What do you need help on?" Lily questioned, with a firmer voice than before. She hadn't spoken to Adeline much, because she had always been away from the dorm or occasionally giggling with Elyse in some corner.

Adeline laughed slightly. "I need help with that charm that Flitwick taught a while ago, the one about tracking down areas of water with your wand. I'm positively horrible with Charms."

"_Expiscor Aqualegio_," Lily said, turning toward Adeline, "right?" She nodded and took out a bottle of water from her bag. Adeline took it and put it on the armchair across from Lily.

"See, look what happens when I try it," Adeline fumed, a touch of aggravation under her voice, "_Expiscor Aqualegio!"_

Her wand shot out of her hand, landing some four meters away from her. Lily shook her head and said patiently, "You shouldn't be flicking your wand, you should be just moving your wrist like this, with loose fingers. And your pronunciation is slightly off. Here, let me show you."

"_Expiscor Aqualegio!"_ Lily cried, her wand flying a few centimeters above her hand and turning like a compass in the direction of the water bottle. Adeline nodded. "Let me try."

Her face flushed, she muttered, "_Expiscor Aqualegio!" _This time, Lily watched as her wand emitted a few sparks, floating a bit, and dropped, pointing upward.

Adeline clutched her head in her hands and moaned, "I can't do it." Lily was surprised in a way, because she hadn't known the Asian girl enough that she had ever seen her show any emotion but happiness.

"Come on, you can do it. Try again." Lily said, while patting Adeline on her back. Adeline tensed, as if surprised to feel warmth from Lily, and Lily pulled hand back. There was a bit of silence, then the Asian girl whispered, "_Expiscor Aqualegio!_" Her wand repeated its previous performance, and Lily looked slightly confused.

Lily said, with curiosity in her voice, "It should have worked. You said it right, and you moved your hand correctly. Are you concentrating?" Adeline shrugged.

"Probably not. I have a lot on my mind."

Before Lily could stop herself, she said, "Why don't you try to let it out? It might help." Adeline looked up in surprise, while the redhead mentally screamed at herself for betraying her desire to hear what was wrong with Adeline.

"It's fine, Lily. I'm probably doing something technically wrong and maybe both of us didn't catch it."

"Adeline, you're doing everything fine except from your concentration level." Lily bit her tongue, before she could say anything else, her hunger starting to catch up with her. A growl emitted from her stomach, and Lily blushed.

Adeline whispered, "Oh Merlin, I didn't know you were hungry. I thought you ate fast. Do you want some cookies I brought from the dinner table?" Digging through her bag, Adeline clutched a bag of cookies victoriously that Lily's mouth watered at. When Lily shook her head, Adeline sighed, pulled open Lily's hand, and put in the bag of cookies.

"There you go." While Lily munched on it, while thanking Adeline, she saw Adeline sigh and the girl sat by the fire.

"I guess my mind's on other things. You seem trustworthy, Lily. Can I tell you something that you have to promise not to repeat to anybody else?" Lily prayed it had nothing to do with boys.

"Sure."

"I don't think many people like me." Lily choked in surprise.

"Adeline, _everyone_ I've ever talked to always says that you're cool. That's a lie." It occurred to Lily that Cecilia might've had an influence on her.

Adeline shook her head. "They think I'm cool, but they don't _like_ me."

Lily shrugged and asked, "What's the difference?"

"They think I'm a cool person—that doesn't mean they like me. Like, for example, you might think that some Quidditch player might be awesome, but you know that they're a total bastard inside and don't like them." Adeline said, her eyes closing in thought.

"But you're not like that. I mean, I don't think there's a single person in Hogwarts that can call you a mean person or anything along the lines." Lily said, hoping that she was saying the right thing.

Adeline shook her head. "You don't know them like I do. I don't mean to sound arrogant. Anyway, thanks for listening. Let me try again." Before Lily could say anything, Adeline stood up.

"_Expiscor Aqualegio!" _Her wand floated a bit and pointed in the direction of the water bottle. Adeline's smile was heart-warming, and Lily couldn't help but return it. She was infectious, Lily thought. Positively infectious. Adeline looked thoughtful for a moment and hugged Lily, who stiffened then relaxed. She released Lily.

Adeline thanked her, saying, "Thanks for your help. You're a wonderful tutor. I hope I wasn't too bad." Lily laughed, while the Asian girl left, a grin on her features.

Lily sat back in her chair, with a big smile on her face. Adeline gave her a feeling that was normal and accepted, probably one of the reasons why everyone liked her. It was hard not to smile with her around. She was so easy to like, because she was so nice, so charismatic. A slight sting of jealousy hit her, but Lily ignored it.

Ah, the lifestyles of the admired, Lily thought, closing her eyes.

--

_September 19th, 1977_

Black glanced at Lily, who was glumly munching on a piece of toast, not even bothering to put jam on it.

"You're not a morning person, I suppose?" He asked curiously and received a glare from the red-headed girl.

Lily said scathingly, "Yes, I am, and that's why I'm wearing a delighted smile at the current time." Black shook his head and continued eating his pile of pancakes quite happily. Cecilia laughed a bit, while Lupin rolled his eyes. They were quiet for a while, with Lupin's occasional rustle of paper as he examined the Daily Prophet.

Potter asked Lupin, "Anything?" Lupin answered, "Daily killings, corruption in the Ministry of Magic, reports on the daily lives of Quidditch stars—nothing new."

The redhead glared. "I love how you make the horrible news sound so terrific." Lupin looked at her over the newspaper.

"You really aren't a morning person." Lupin said dryly, while rolling his eyes.

Lily retorted, "Don't state the obvious, Lupin; it's _really_ annoying." Potter sighed while Pettigrew shook his head.

Potter asked Cecilia, "Would you mind asking her to move if she's going to act like this? _Every_ morning?" Cecilia shook her head, grinning.

"Sorry James. It's too funny watching you all argue with each other, "Cecilia replied, not even bothering to look up from her fixation with her breakfast. Potter sighed, while Lily muttered something incoherently.

Pettigrew asked, "We have Potions right after this, right?" Lupin nodded.

"Oh shit. Is the essay about that potion we did a while ago due today?" Pettigrew asked again, alarm entering his voice. Lily nodded.

"You didn't do it?" Lily smirked, while Pettigrew began to panic.

He said shrilly, "Oh Merlin. I'm averaging an A in his class—if I miss this assignment then it'll drop down to a P, and my mum'll _kill_ me if I get a P in Potions. I mean, I barely made it into Potions after the OWLs. Slughorn hates me! Can he kick me out of the class because my grade is a—"

Black glared. "Wormtail, _shut up._ You'll be fine. You're good at Potions." Lily opened her mouth to say something.

Cecilia kicked her under the table. "Don't say anything," she whispered. "When Peter gets into a panic, it isn't pretty." Lily fumed, muttering comments about Pettigrew under her breath, while Potter seemed more and more exasperated. The only phrases that came out were, "Pettigrew", "stupid", "what the hell", and "can't believe."

"Evans, can you _ever_ be nice for once in your bloody life?" Potter said angrily, leaving the table after this last word.

Lily was stung, but she closed her mouth for the rest of breakfast. She had almost liked him after their conversation days ago. He seemed different in the morning—perhaps they both weren't morning people. However, James was perfectly amicable with Lupin, so she wondered if it was her.

Before she had met Cecilia, she had mostly eaten breakfast by herself, listening to the conversations around her, never adding things. But since they became friends, Cecilia practically forced her to sit with the rest of the Marauders. So what if Lily was a _bit_ grumpy in the morning? A strand of dislike came over her, when she saw out of the corner of her eyes how Lupin and Pettigrew exchanged almost a triumphant look. Potter was different than what she thought, Lily realized. Perhaps he wasn't the eloquent and…almost nice person that she had felt he was; perhaps he was one of those people that seemed kind on the outside and were completely hideous on the inside. But if he were like that, he wouldn't have friends like Black and Lupin.

Lily hated her logic and how it never let her _hate_ someone.

Cecilia poked her. "Come on, Lily. Stop sulking. You have Potions." Lily mumbled something and left the Hall, not bothering to wait for Cecilia.

--

Lily walked into the room, the steam making her squint to recognize the solid objects in the room. She sat down near a boiling caldron and dropped her bag on the ground. When the class filled up, Lily was almost disappointed to see that no one had sat next to her. Turning around, she saw that Potter and Lupin had shared a caldron, as did Black and Adeline. She shook her head and focused on Slughorn, who smiled broadly at the class.

"We'll be starting a new potion today, class. It's rather difficult, so we'll be paring up. You have a minute to choose your partner." Lily sighed, getting ready to stand up when Slughorn would ask, "Anyone who doesn't have a partner, please come up to the front of the class." However, someone laid a hand on her arm. She tensed and looked at the person.

"Would you like to be partners?" Severus Snape asked, looking at her directly in the eye. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Potter staring.

Lily said, "Sure," while watching Potter carefully. Potter gaped rather unpleasantly when Snape sat next to her, warming his hands over the caldron.

"Anyone who doesn't have a partner, please come up." Slughorn announced, his eyes falling over Lily. When he saw that she had a partner, he gave her a grin and said, "Please call out your partner's name when I come to your name."

When he got down to Evans, she called out, "Snape." Whispers erupted behind her, most likely from the Slytherins and Potter and Lupin. Snape looked at her calculatingly, while Lily pretended not to notice. When Slughorn finished, Lily sighed.

"Today, we will be doing the famous Polyjuice Potion. I understand that this is new material to many of you. There are many dangers to this potion if you miss a single ingredient, and I'd rather not divulge into them. Therefore, I hope you have taken care to choose a partner, because you will be using this with your current partner. By the way, no changing partners." He added, with the sudden flurry of movement. Lily glanced at Snape and already dreaded having to transform into him.

Slughorn finished, "The directions are on the board," he waved his wand and words appeared, "and I don't want too many people in the storeroom, so only one person from each group may come up. Start!"

Snape asked, "Do you want to get the ingredients or write down the directions?"

Lily replied, "I'll get the ingredients, if that's okay with you." The only reply she got was a slight incline of Snape's head, and she set off for the crowded storeroom. She bumped into someone and apologized immediately.

"Sorry!" She said, looking up. "Oh, it's you."

Potter glared. "Oh, it's Evans." He began to collect various ingredients in his arms, while Lily waited impatiently behind him. Tapping her foot, Potter turned around and glowered at her.

"Stop that!" He said angrily, while Lily smirked at him and continued. Finally, he finished with a huff and left. After collecting all the ingredients, she handed a few of them to Snape who dropped them gently in the caldron.

He muttered, "Turn counter-clockwise thirteen times…one…two…three…" She looked at the instructions.

"Hey Snape, it's supposed to be clockwise, four times." He gave her a look, and she shut up. After some thirty minutes of conversations consisting of, "Please pass the lacewings", Slughorn came by.

Slughorn gave them an appraising look. "Two of the finest Potion-makers in this room; I must say, I can hardly wait to see your potion's result." He peeked inside the caldron. "Very fine, very fine. You two will create great things…"

Lily snorted. "_Right._" Snape raised his eyebrow.

"Aren't you the politest one?"

"You never noticed?" There was almost a smile on Snape's face at her reply, but it vanished after a few seconds.

When the bell rang, she asked Snape, "Someone has to come down at around 9 o' clock at night today to stir the potion a few times. You or me?"

He said instead, "How about you take the morning stirrings, and I'll take the evening ones? I doubt that you'd want to come down in the dungeons after dinner—it's not safe for a Gryffindor." Lily was surprised at his answer, mostly at the fact that he almost cared about her safety.

"Is it ever?"

Snape gave her a calculated look and left the room, not bothering to reply. She could've sworn that an almost…impressed look came upon his face. Packing up, she followed Snape, when she heard someone yell "Evans!"

Flipping around, she saw Black trotting toward her. She rolled her eyes and continued.

"Evans! Wait up!" Walking slightly faster, Lily turned a corner.

Black caught up to her. "I'm offended, Evans. You have a free period next?" He said, grinning.

"Right, Black. And yes, I do."

"So what were you doing, paring with Sni-Snape?" Black asked, taking on a nonchalant tone.

Lily looked at him, with suspicion on her face. "He asked me politely, and I said yes," Lily said, walking faster in a fruitless attempt to cause Black to give up.

"It's _Snape._ Have you any Gryffindor pride?"

"If you're asking if I'm a fanatic, then—no."

He glanced at her. "Are you sure you weren't supposed to be sorted in Slytherin but asked the Sorting Hat to sort you in Gryffindor?" Lily glared at him.

"You don't have to be a Snape-hater to be in Gryffindor," she said, with a tinge of annoyance. Lily never quite hated Snape, only thought that he was strange.

Black gasped, clutching his hand to his heart, and said in shock, "It's on the Gryffindor contract—it's not even in the fine print! Honestly, how could you have missed it?" Despite herself, Lily laughed.

"I must have forgotten to sign it! Do you have a copy on hand?" Sarcasm colored her words, but either Black chose to ignore it or he didn't catch it.

Rummaging in his bag, Black pulled out a ratty piece of parchment. "Here we go! Sign here!"

Looking it over, she raised her eyebrow and said, "Black, in case you haven't noticed, this is a _blank_ piece of parchment. I thought contracts were supposed to have words on them." Suddenly, Black colored and stuffed it in his backpack, digging out another piece of paper.

"Sorry 'bout that. Er…sign _here._" Lily looked it over.

_We, the people of Gryffindor, solemnly swear to abide by this contract of the Gryffindor House. If any of the following owners of the signatures chose to break any of the rules, they shall be henceforth banished to the couch in the Common Room._

Lily laughed loudly. "_Banished_ to the couch? How frightening." Black grinned at her, and she felt her heart warm slightly.

Walking up some stairs, she continued to read it.

_1. Any items containing green and silver and/or the Slytherin crest shall be burned in the most violent way, preferably at the nearest Quidditch match._

_2. There is an obligation to laugh at the Marauader's pranks, no matter how foolish or idiotic they are._

"Lupin wrote that, didn't he?"

"Good guess, Evans."

_3. Any Gryffindor who travels to the kitchen before or after a meal time must fill the orders of at least five people. Specifically in the male dorm. _

_4. Snape is the Devil, Lucifer, the Hitler of Muggles, the Grindelwald of Wizards, etc. Every attempt must to made to humiliate him. No true Gryffindor may associate themselves with him, unless they are causing damage to him in some way._

_5. Prefects or students that report "disturbances" in the common room will be banned from their dorms and have their clothes thrown into the corridor to be trampled by Slytherins (or pretty-boy Hufflepuffs.)_

_6. There is no excuse to not go to a Gryffindor Quidditch game, unless there is a detention for the harming of a Slytherin (or any pretty-boy Hufflepuffs.)_

_7. A date with a Slytherin is prohibited, unless there is a plan to dump them in a humiliating way._

_8. Catfights amongst females must occur in the Common Room for the sheer amusement for the males._

_9. The second-years are in charge of repeating the clearly classic and fantastic pranks of the Marauders to the first-years. We are completely modest and have no intention of bragging to all the members of the House every day. Every other day is fine though._

_10. Females are welcomed in the male locker room after Quidditch practice, provided they are dressed in scanty clothing._

_11. THERE IS NO MAKING-OUT OR ANYTHING MORE SEXUAL IN THE COMMON ROOM. THE FIRST-YEARS ARE EASILY TRAUMATIZED. YES, WE ARE TALKING TO YOU, PREFECTS. WE KNOW WHAT YOU DO AT NIGHT._

Lily giggled, shaking. She couldn't read further and gave it back to Black, who frowned.

"Sign it, Evans!"

When her giggles subsided, she grinned at him. "I have no intention of being 'banished to the couch.' Neither do I have a desire to fill in orders of other Gryffindors when I choose to go the kitchen."

She remembered something and accused Sirius, "Hey, when we went to the kitchen the other day, you all didn't fill orders of five people. Only four." He smiled cockily at her.

"Yes well, the Marauders are the only exception to the rules."

"Where does it say that?" Black gave an exasperated sigh and took the parchment out of his bag again.

He pointed to the fine print. Lily squinted:

_The Marauders, the incredibly well-gifted writers of the document, have to power to dismiss or "forget" any of these rules. However, we are also the enforcers of these rules. Yes, we are evil bastards._

Lily laughed.

"Merlin, you all are actually funny. Hey, where are we?" Lily turned around.

Black gave her a shocked look. "We are at the all-mighty Quidditch Pitch, as Prongs says. You haven't ever been here?" Lily shrugged.

"Only for the occasional Quidditch game, but I've never been to the opposite side of it."

"You learn things, when you have Sirius Black for companionship."

Lily broke into another fit of giggles. "Learn? Or have brain damage, Black?"

Black frowned and said, "Since we have had a conversation for around ten minutes, without any violence or hexes on either part of us, I believe we are friends. Call me Sirius." Lily smiled.

"Call me Lily, then."

Lily looked at Sirius and felt contented, her heart warming. She sat on the grass, while Sirius sat close to her and pulled out his homework. Her back fell onto the grass, as she followed the clouds with her eyes and dreamed of days of happiness that she so rarely clutched.

There were swirling monsters and dreams above her; she opened her eyes wider, wanting to see the world bigger, larger. Smiling, she tickled the air, fingers stretching toward the sky. In that moment, she could feel everything under her fingertips. The cool blue and fluffy white—she closed her eyes, pleasuring in the feeling.

Suddenly, Sirius's handsome face was next to hers, and a happy expression took on her face.

"It's a broom!" He whispered, while Lily laughed.

"Is that all you boys ever think about?"

Sirius smirked. "You forgot girls, Lily. That's a very important subject."

Rolling her eyes, Lily giggled, feeling so…_free._ "Look, it's a horse!"

They looked at each other and began laughing at the humor of their situation. Sirius stood up and Lily pretended to get up. Finally, Sirius pulled her arm up.

"Why thank you, Mister Black."

"My pleasure." He said, as they walked away.

--

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